Systems and methods for accessing voice transmissions

ABSTRACT

Various systems and methods for intercepting transmissions are disclosed. In one embodiment, a system is disclosed that includes a media gateway communicably coupled to a soft switch and an acquisition facility. A first processor and a first computer readable medium is associated with the soft switch. The computer readable medium includes instructions executable by the processor to receive a transmission originating from a first communicator and indicating at least a second communicator, and to direct the transmission to the acquisition facility via the media gateway. A second processor and second computer readable medium are included, and the second computer readable medium includes instructions executable by the second processor to direct the transmission from the media gateway to the second communicator such that direction of the transmission to an acquisition facility is obscured from at least the second communicator. Various other systems and methods are also disclosed.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED CASES

The present application claims priority to U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 60/555,603 entitled “Systems and Methods forIntercepting Communications” filed by Pelletier et al. on Mar. 23, 2004.The entirety of the aforementioned reference is incorporated herein byreference for all purposes.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides systems and methods for monitoringvarious transmissions. More particularly, the present invention providesvarious methods for monitoring real time transmissions passed over aInternet Protocol (IP) network.

In some cases it has been deemed desirable to provide third party accessto voice communications. Securing third party access has typicallyincluded obtaining a court order allowing for a wire tap of a particulartelephone number, and providing the court order to a telecommunicationscompany servicing the particular telephone number. Based on the courtorder, the telecommunications company places a tap at the central officeof the telephone company. The tap provides a copy of communicationsongoing in relation to the particular telephone number to the entityproviding the court order to the telecommunications company. Such anapproach, however, is unworkable in the increasing complexity anddiversity of the communications market.

Hence, among things, there exists a need in the art for advanced systemsand methods facilitating third party access to telephoniccommunications.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides systems and methods for monitoringvarious transmissions. More particularly, the present invention providesvarious methods for monitoring real time transmissions passed over aInternet Protocol (IP) network.

In various cases, the present invention can be applied to a voice overIP (VOIP) network to monitor audio transmissions ongoing in relation toa selected endpoint. In such cases, an audio transmission between two ormore endpoints is detected, and at least a portion of the audiotransmission is directed to an acquisition facility where the audiotransmission is monitored. In some instances, the monitoring can beperformed without introducing observable changes to the audiotransmission passing between selected endpoints. Thus, for example, thesystems and methods can be implemented such that any time delay or otherindication of the monitoring is not detectable at any of the endpoints.Thus, in some cases, the systems and methods of the present inventioncan be used for implementing monitoring of VOIP network activityconsistent with the requirements of the United States CooperativeAssistance to Law Enforcement Act. Application of the invention to aVOIP network can include monitoring transmissions from IP to IP, andto/from IP and a PSTN or other border network.

Some embodiments of the present invention provide systems forintercepting audio transmissions. Such systems include a media gatewaythat is communicably coupled to a soft switch and an acquisitionfacility. A processor and a computer readable medium are associated withthe soft switch. The associated computer readable medium includesinstructions executable by the processor to receive a transmissionoriginating from a first communicator and indicating at least a secondcommunicator, and to direct the transmission to the acquisition facilityvia the media gateway such that transmission to the acquisition facilityis obscured from the second communicator.

A processor and computer readable medium are also associated with themedia gateway. This computer readable medium includes instructionsexecutable to direct the transmission from the media gateway to thesecond communicator. In particular instances, the media gateway providesIP signals to the soft switch and time division multiplex signals to apublic switched telephone network. In various cases obscuring theacquisition process is done by selecting a media gateway randomly,and/or by selecting a media gateway that would handle both transmissionsselected for acquisition and those not selected for acquisition. Thus,as just one example, transmissions from one communicator may always behandled by a particular media gateway or group of media gateways. Eachof these media gateways can be capable of directing the transmission foracquisition and also to a selected destination communicator, as well asdirecting the transmission to the selected communicator withoutproviding for acquisition.

In some cases, the computer readable medium associated with the softswitch further includes instructions executable to determine that thetransmission originating from the first communicator is selected foracquisition. This computer readable medium can also include a list ofcommunicators for which associated transmissions are to be acquired. Insuch cases, the computer readable medium can further includeinstructions executable to access the list of communicators for whichassociated transmissions are to be acquired.

The transmission can be a real time transmission such as, for example,audio, video, and/or text messaging transmissions. The communicators canbe, but are not limited to, wired telephones, cellular telephones, audioenabled personal computers, audio enabled personal digital assistants,voice over internet protocol telephones, video enabled wired telephones,video enabled cellular telephones, video enabled voice over internetprotocol telephones, video enabled personal computers, and/or a videoenabled personal digital assistants.

Other embodiments of the present invention provide systems and methodsfor monitoring transmissions. Such methods include a media gateway thatis communicably coupled to a first communicator, a second communicator,and a central office. The central office is operable to transfercommunications selected for acquisition and operable to transfercommunications not selected for acquisition. A processor and computerreadable medium are associated with the central office, and the computerreadable medium includes instructions executable by the processor to:receive a transmission originating from the first communicator; directthe transmission to the acquisition facility; and direct thetransmission from the central office to the second communicator via themedia gateway such that it masks the occurrence of the transmission fromthe central office to the acquisition facility.

Yet other embodiments of the present invention provide methods formonitoring IP transmissions that can include, for example, audio, video,and/or text messaging. In some particular examples, the methods includemonitoring audio communications passed via a VOIP network. Such methodsinclude receiving an audio transmission at a soft switch. The audiotransmission is initiated by a first communicator, and it indicates afirst IP address associated with the first communicator and a second IPaddress associated with a second communicator. The methods furtherinclude accessing a computer readable medium that includes a list ofcommunicators selected for acquisition, and identifying either one orboth of the first communicator or the second communicator on the list ofcommunicators selected for acquisition. In addition, the audiotransmission is directed to a media gateway associated with anacquisition facility. The audio transmission is prepared for dispatch tothe second communicator which includes directing the audio transmissionsuch that any acquisition process is obscured from one or both of thefirst and second communicators. The audio transmission is then directedto the second IP address associated with the second communicator, and toan acquisition facility.

In some cases, the methods further include receiving a request toacquire transmissions associated with the first communicator. In variouscases, directing the audio transmission to the acquisition facilityincludes formatting the audio transmission as a time divisionmultiplexed signal. In other cases, the information is processed in astandard IP or other format.

Yet further embodiments of the present invention provide media gatewaysthat include a processor and a computer readable medium. The computerreadable medium includes instructions executable by the processor toreceive a real time transmission that includes an indication of a sourceand a destination and is associated with a communicator. Theinstructions are further executable to direct at least a first portionof the real time transmission to an acquisition facility, to prepare atleast a second portion of the real time transmission for dispatch to thedestination, and to direct the at least a second portion of the realtime transmission to the destination such that the occurrence of theacquisition process is obscured or masked from one or both of the sourceand the destination.

In some cases, the instructions executable by the processor to directthe second portion of the real time transmission to the destinationinclude instructions executable to: provide information associated withthe second portion of the real time transmission to a soft switch;receive communication information from the soft switch; and provideinformation associated with the real time transmission to thedestination in accordance with the communication information from thesoft switch. In particular cases, the instructions executable by theprocessor to direct the first portion of the real time transmission tothe destination include instructions executable to receive informationoriginating from the destination in accordance with the communicationinformation from the soft switch.

Yet further embodiments of the present invention provide methods forintercepting real time audio transmissions. The methods includereceiving at a soft switch, a transmission that includes a signalingcomponent indicating a first IP address associated with a firstcommunicator and a second IP address associated with a secondcommunicator; determining that the first communicator is selected foracquisition; and directing the transmission to a media gateway. At themedia gateway the transmission is directed to the second IP addressassociated with the second communicator such that the directedtransmission obscures the occurrence of any acquisition process.Further, the transmission is directed to an acquisition facility at themedia gateway.

Additional embodiments of the present invention provide methods forintercepting various types of transmissions that are communicated using,for example, IP or other communication format. In such methods,detection can be triggered by an origination or destination indicator.These indicators can be, but are not limited to, a uniform recordlocator (URL), a telephone number, an IP address, and/or the like. Thus,embodiments of the present invention can be used to detect a broad arrayof transmission types using a broad array of indicators.

This summary provides only a general outline of some embodimentsaccording to the present invention. Many other objects, features,advantages and other embodiments of the present invention will becomemore fully apparent from the following detailed description, theappended claims and the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A further understanding of the various embodiments of the presentinvention may be realized by reference to the figures which aredescribed in remaining portions of the specification. In the figures,like reference numerals are used throughout several to refer to similarcomponents. In some instances, a sub-label consisting of a lower caseletter is associated with a reference numeral to denote one of multiplesimilar components. When reference is made to a reference numeralwithout specification to an existing sub-label, it is intended to referto all such multiple similar components.

FIG. 1 depicts an existing system for monitoring audio transmissions;

FIG. 2 depict a system operable in relation to the present invention formonitoring transmissions; and

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating a method in accordance withvarious embodiments of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides systems and methods for monitoringvarious transmissions. More particularly, the present invention providesvarious methods for monitoring real time transmissions passed over anInternet Protocol (IP) network.

In various cases, the present invention can be applied to a voice overIP (VOIP) network to monitor real time transmissions ongoing in relationto one or more selected endpoints. As used herein, the term endpoint canbe a logical location on a communication network such thatcommunications ongoing in relation to the logical location can betargeted, a physical location such that communications emerging from thegeographic location are targeted, and/or an individual or entity suchthat communications associated with the individual or entity aretargeted. In some cases, endpoints are associated with communicationdevices that can include, but are not limited to, a wired telephone, acellular telephone, an audio enabled personal computer, an audio enablepersonal digital assistant (PDA), a voice over internet protocoltelephone, a video enable wired telephone, a video enable cellulartelephone, a video enabled voice over internet protocol telephone, avideo enabled personal computer, and/or a video enable PDA. As usedherein, a communicator is used in its broadest sense to includeendpoints and/or communication devices. Thus, a communicator can be alocation (physical or logical) where a transmission is sent to/from, anentity or individual associated with communications, and/or acommunication device capable of receiving and/or sending suchtransmissions.

As just one example, an audio transmission such as a VOIP telephone callongoing between two endpoints can be detected, and at least a portion ofthe audio transmission is directed to an acquisition facility where theaudio transmission is monitored. Based on the disclosure providedherein, one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that thesystems and methods can be applied to monitor real time transmissionsongoing between a multiplicity of endpoints such as, for example, aconference call.

As used herein, an acquisition facility is any location, equipment,and/or software capable of receiving and recording real timetransmissions. Thus, for example, where the real time transmission is anaudio transmission the acquisition facility can be a tape recorder, adigital recorder, a server, a law enforcement location equipped withrecording equipment, and/or the like.

Turning to FIG. 1, an existing system 100 for monitoring audiotransmissions is illustrated. System 100 includes two or more telephones110, 120 each physically coupled to a central office 140. Each oftelephones 110, 120 is associated with a respective telephone number.System 100 further includes physical coupling of a law enforcementagency 130 to central office 140.

In operation, law enforcement agency 130 obtains a court order allowingit to monitor communications ongoing in relation to one or more oftelephones 110, 120. Law enforcement agency 130 then presents the courtorder to a telecommunications company responsible for central office140. The telecommunications company then implements monitoring of theaudio transmissions occurring in relation to the designated telephonenumber. In particular, where the telephone number associated withtelephone 110 is selected for acquisition, a telephone call either to orfrom telephone 110 is flagged at central office 140. A copy of theflagged telephone call is secured and provided to law enforcement agency130. Such an approach works in a standard telecommunications system thatrelies on ubiquitous telephone numbers and passage through a centraloffice. Such an approach is not effective for a growing variety oftelephony services.

Turning to FIG. 2, and in particular to FIG. 2 a, a system 200 formonitoring transmissions in accordance with some embodiments of thepresent invention is illustrated. System 200 includes a VOIP network 260that includes one or more soft switches 250 capable of routing varioustransmissions across VOIP network 260. System 200 further includes oneor more communicators 210, 220 capable of accessing VOIP network 260either directly or indirectly. One or more media gateways 240 areincluded, along with one or more border networks 215, 225. Bordernetworks 215, 225 can be any network capable of communicably couplingone or more communicators 210, 220 with VOIP network 260. Thus, bordernetworks can include Wi-Fi points, Internet Service Provider (ISP)networks, public switched telephone networks (PSTN), enterprisenetworks, virtual private networks (VPN), and/or the like. In somecases, a communicator is capable of direct coupling to VOIP network 260,and in such a case does not communicate via a border network. As usedherein, the term communicably coupled is used in its broadest sense tomean any type of coupling whereby information can be passed between twoor more points, either directly or via intermediary equipment. Thus, forexample, communicable coupling can include wired and/or wirelesscoupling. System 200 also includes a central office 270 communicablycoupled to media gateway via an interface 230, and to an acquisitionfacility 280 via an interface 285.

In a standard operation, a transmission is initiated from, for example,communicator 210 that is directed to communicator 220. The transmissionis received at border network 215 and directed to soft switch 250. Thetransmission indicates the originating communicator 210 and thedestination communicator 220. Soft switch 250 sets up signaling 292, 293indicating a media path 294 by which media associated with thetransmission is passed. As will be appreciated by one of ordinary skillin the art, media path 294 can be a direct connection between bordernetworks 215, 225 or can include a number of hops or nodes spacedbetween communicator 210 and communicator 220. Based on the disclosureprovided herein, one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that alarge number of communicators can be associated with VOIP network 260,either directly or through a border network.

In accordance with some embodiments of the present invention, softswitch 250 is associated with a computer readable medium that includes alist of communicators and/or endpoints designated for acquisition. Forthe purpose of the following description, and that of the claims below,endpoints and communicators are used interchangeably to mean any pointscommunicably coupled to VOIP network 260 that are capable of beingacquired (i.e., monitored). In some cases, the list of communicatorsincludes a list of IP addresses associated with particular communicationdevices, locations and/or users. In addition, the list of communicatorscan include a list of telephone numbers and/or other information capableof designating the source and/or destination of a particulartransmission. Upon receiving a transmission, soft switch 250 accessesthe list of communicators designated for acquisition to determine if anycommunicator indicated by the received transmission is included on thelist. The communicators indicated by the transmission can includecommunicators identified as the source or destination of thetransmission.

As shown in FIG. 2 b, where it is determined that a communicatorassociated with a received transmission is included on the list ofcommunicators designated for acquisition, signaling 292, 295 is set upbetween media gateway 240 and border network 215 associated with theoriginating communicator 210. Media 297 associated with the transmissionis then directed from border network 215 to media gateway 240, ratherthan directly to border network 225 as may be the case where acquisitionis not called for.

In turn, media gateway 240 forks the transmission (i.e., a tap isperformed by making a copy of the transmission and directing the copy toa secondary location), and the forked portion of the transmission isdirected to acquisition facility 280 via central office 230. In anotherexample, central office 230 forks the transmission, with the forkedportion of the transmission being directed to acquisition facility 280.In addition, soft switch sets up signaling 296, 293 such that mediagateway 240 can communicate media 298 associated with the transmissionto the original destination, communicator 220, via border network 225.In one embodiment of the present invention, interface 230 is a timedivision multiplex interface, central office 270 is the central officeof a PSTN, and interface 285 is a JD-STD-25 interface. Based on thedisclosure provided herein, one of ordinary skill in the art willrecognize other data formats that can be used in accordance with thepresent invention. Further, based on the disclosure provided herein, oneof ordinary skill in the art will recognize that media gateway 240 cancommunicate with acquisition facility 280 directly, or via anintermediary other than central office 270 depending upon theconfiguration of the network. In some cases, acquisition facility 280includes access to one or more keys allowing for access to transmissionsdetected in an encrypted format.

At this point, the ongoing acquisition may be detectable at eithercommunicator 210 or communicator 220. In particular, communicator 210may be aware that it is communicating directly with media gateway 240rather than another more direct path to communicator 220. Similarly,communicator 220 may be aware that it is also communicating directlywith media gateway 240, rather than another more direct path tocommunicator 210. Further, where all acquisition is accomplished viamedia gateway 240, a user may know that a particular transmission hasbeen selected for acquisition by virtue of the fact that thecommunication is being carried via media gateway 240.

In some cases where it is desired to mask or obscure the acquisitionprocess from one or both of communicators 210, 220, media gateway 240can always be selected to carry, for example, transmissions originatingfrom communicator 210 whether the transmission is selected foracquisition or not. Thus, determining that a transmission is beingcarried via media gateway 240 does not necessarily indicate that thetransmission has been selected for acquisition. This approach obscuresand/or masks the occurrence of an acquisition process.

As one example of the foregoing embodiment, soft switch 250 can receivea request to complete a transmission between communicator 210 andcommunicator 220. Soft switch 250 can determine based on the indicationof one or both of communicator 210 and communicator 220 that thetransmission is selected for acquisition. Soft switch 250 can thendefine a transmission route that includes media gateway 240. Similarly,where a transmission is not selected for acquisition, soft switch 250defines a transmission route that includes media gateway 240. Based onthe disclosure provided herein, one of ordinary skill in the art willappreciate a number of other exemplary scenarios that can be performedin accordance with the aforementioned embodiment of the presentinvention. For example, it may be that soft switch 250 is not used, butrather that equipment associated with border network 215 provides therouting functionality.

In some embodiments of the present invention, a number of media gateways(including media gateway 240) are capable of communicating transmissionsto acquisition facility 280. These media gateways can also be commonlyused in carrying transmissions between communicators even where thetransmissions are not selected for acquisition. Similar to thepreviously described reuse of media gateway 240 to carry transmissionsnot selected for acquisition, the reuse of multiple media gatewaysfurther obscures or masks any acquisition process from communicators210, 220. In one particular embodiment, a communicator such ascommunicator 210 always transmits via one or a select group of mediagateways—one or more of which is capable of communicating a transmissionto acquisition facility 280. Thus, when a transmission is selected foracquisition, the route selected to carry the transmission will not beout of the ordinary, and the acquisition process will be obscured.

As one example of the foregoing embodiment, soft switch 250 can receivea request to complete a transmission between communicator 210 andcommunicator 220. Soft switch 250 can determine based on the indicationof one or both of communicator 210 and communicator 220 that thetransmission is selected for acquisition. Soft switch 250 can thendefine a transmission route that includes one of a number of mediagateways capable of facilitating the acquisition. Similarly, where thetransmission is not selected for acquisition, soft switch 250 defines atransmission route that randomly includes one or more of the mediagateways capable of facilitating acquisition. Again, based on thedisclosure provided herein one of ordinary skill in the art willappreciate a number of other exemplary scenarios that can be performedin accordance with the aforementioned embodiment of the presentinvention.

In yet other embodiments of the present invention, transmissions aretypically routed such that they are carried by one or more mediagateways—or in some cases by a variety of network nodes including, butnot limited to, media gateways. Further, these media gateways arerandomly assigned for routing purposes such that it would be uncommonfor two consecutive transmissions from communicator 210 to communicator220 to share a common path. When an acquisition is desired, thetransmission is routed via a media gateway capable of communicating withan acquisition facility, and the prior randomness of routing obscures ormasks the fact that acquisition has been selected.

As one example of the foregoing embodiment, soft switch 250 can receivea request to complete a transmission between communicator 210 andcommunicator 220. Soft switch 250 can determine based on the indicationof one or both of communicator 210 and communicator 220 that thetransmission is selected for acquisition. Soft switch 250 can thendefine a transmission route that includes a media gateways capable offacilitating the acquisition. Similarly, where the transmission is notselected for acquisition, soft switch 250 defines a purposely randomtransmission route that at least occasionally includes one or more mediagateways capable of facilitating acquisition. Where acquisition isselected, a random pattern of media gateways capable of acquisition canbe selected. Again, based on the disclosure provided herein one ofordinary skill in the art will appreciate a number of other exemplaryscenarios that can be performed in accordance with the aforementionedembodiment of the present invention. Further, it should be recognizedthat acquisition facility 280 may be part of VOIP network 260. In such acase, acquisition facility 280 can be assigned a number of nodeidentifications that can be used in routing even when a transmission hasnot been selected for acquisition.

In yet other embodiments of the present invention, at least in part toavoid detection, media gateway 240 can replace an indicator of mediagateway 240 included with transmission 298 destined for communicator 220with the corresponding indicator of communicator 210. Further, signaling293 can be modified to avoid and/or obscure detection. Similarly, mediagateway 240 can replace an indicator (in some cases, the IP address ofmedia gateway 240) of media gateway 240 included with transmission 297destined for communicator 220 with the corresponding indicator ofcommunicator 210, and signaling 292 can be modified to avoid and/orobscure detection. In some cases, obscuring detection includes usingmedia gateway 240 as a transfer point for transmissions passing throughVOIP network 260 both when acquisition is ongoing, and when acquisitionis not ongoing. Such a random use of media gateway 240 limits theability to detect that acquisition is ongoing, and rather looks like astandard connection such as that depicted in FIG. 2 a with media gatewayacting as a node in media path 294.

Turning to FIG. 3, a flow diagram 300 illustrates a method in accordancewith some embodiments of the present invention for acquiring atransmission in relation to system 200. Following flow diagram 300, arequest to monitor (i.e., acquire) one or more transmissions associatedwith one or more communicators is received (block 305). In some cases,this request is provided by a law enforcement agency that has obtained acourt order allowing for the monitoring of transmissions occurring inrelation to a particular communicator. This request can be provided toan entity having some control over the operations of VOIP network 260and/or one or more border networks 215, 225.

Upon receiving the request (block 305), a media gateway occasionallyutilized in relation to transmissions associated with the designatedcommunicator is identified (block 310). This can include, for example,updating a list of communicators selected for acquisition and associatedmedia gateways. This computer readable medium is accessible by softswitch 250. Thus, in some cases, this computer readable medium can beimplemented as part of soft switch 250, or available as a resourcesomewhere on VOIP network 260, border networks 215, 225, and/oracquisition facility 280. Based on the disclosure provided herein, oneof ordinary skill in the art will recognize a number of other physicaland/or logical locations for the computer readable medium.

Activity associated with VOIP network 260 and/or border networks 215,225 is monitored to determine if any of the activity is ongoing inrelation to a communicator selected for acquisition (block 315). Thiscan include accessing the aforementioned computer readable medium bysoft switch 250, and determining that a requested transmission isassociated with a communicator included on the list of communicatorsselected for acquisition. Where a match is found and the transmission isbeing received by the matching communicator (block 320), thetransmission including media and signaling is redirected to the mediagateway associated with the selected communicator (block 330). Thetransmission is also forwarded to the acquisition facility where it isrecorded (block 335), and directed from the media gateway to theselected communicator with the IP address of the media gateway replacedwith that of the sending communicator (block 340). Acquisition of thetransmission is continued until an end of the transmission is detected(block 345).

Alternatively, where a match is found and the transmission is being sentby the matching communicator (block 325), the transmission includingmedia and signaling is redirected to the media gateway associated withthe selected communicator (block 350). The transmission is alsoforwarded to the acquisition facility where it is recorded (block 355),and directed from the media gateway to the receiving communicator withthe IP address of the media gateway replaced with that of the selectedcommunicator (block 360). Acquisition of the transmission is continueduntil an end of the transmission is detected (block 365).

Where no match is found (blocks 320, 325) or when a monitoring activityends (blocks 345, 365), it is determined if an updated monitoringrequest is pending (block 370). Where no updated monitoring request ispending, activity monitoring (blocks 315-365) continues as previouslydescribed. Alternatively, where an updated monitoring request is pending(block 370), the updated monitoring request is satisfied by adding ordeleting one or more communicators to/from the list of communicatorsselected for acquisition.

Based on the discussion provided herein, one of ordinary skill in theart will recognize that a number of acquisition processes (threads) canbe ongoing in parallel. Further, monitoring of other transmissionspassing through the network(s) can be monitored while varioustransmissions are being acquired.

The invention has now been described in detail for purposes of clarityand understanding. However, it will be appreciated that certain changesand modifications may be practiced within the scope of the appendedclaims. Thus, although the invention is described with reference tospecific embodiments and figures thereof, the embodiments and figuresare merely illustrative, and not limiting of the invention. Rather, thescope of the invention is to be determined solely by the appendedclaims.

1. A system for intercepting audio transmissions, the system comprising:a media gateway, wherein the media gateway is communicably coupled to asoft switch and an acquisition facility; a first processor associatedwith the soft switch; a first computer readable medium associated withthe soft switch, wherein the first computer readable medium includesinstructions executable by the processor to: receive a transmissionoriginating from a first communicator, wherein the transmissionindicates a second communicator; and direct the transmission to theacquisition facility via the media gateway, wherein the transmission tothe acquisition facility is obscured from the second communicator,wherein the media gateway is a randomly selected media gateway, whereinthe transmission to the acquisition facility is obscured from the secondcommunicator at least in part through random selection of the mediagateway; a second processor associated with the media gateway; and asecond computer readable medium associated with the media gateway,wherein the second computer readable medium includes instructionsexecutable by the second processor to: direct the transmission from themedia gateway to the acquisition facility; and direct the transmissionfrom the media gateway to the second communicator.
 2. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the media gateway is responsible for handlingtransmissions that are not selected for acquisition as well astransmissions selected for acquisition.
 3. The system of claim 1,wherein the first computer readable medium further includes instructionsexecutable by the first processor to: determine that the transmissionoriginating from the first communicator is selected for acquisition. 4.The system of claim 3, wherein the first computer readable mediumincludes a list of communicators for which associated transmissions areto be acquired, and wherein the instructions executable by the firstprocessor to direct the transmission to the acquisition facility via themedia gateway include instructions executable by the first processor toaccess the list of communicators for which associated transmissions areto be acquired.
 5. The system of claim 4, wherein at least onecommunicator from the list of communicators is identified using one ormore of an IP address, a telephone number, and a uniform record locator.6. The system of claim 1, wherein the transmission is a real timetransmission.
 7. The system of claim 6, wherein the first communicatoris selected from a group consisting: a wired telephone, a cellulartelephone, an audio enabled personal computer, an audio enabled personaldigital assistant, a voice over internet protocol telephone, a videoenabled wired telephone, a video enabled cellular telephone, a videoenabled voice over internet protocol telephone, a video enabled internetprotocol communication device, a video enabled personal computer, and avideo enabled personal digital assistant; and wherein the secondcommunicator is selected from a group consisting of a wired telephone, acellular telephone, an audio enabled personal computer, an audio enabledpersonal digital assistant, a voice over internet protocol telephone, avideo enabled wired telephone, a video enabled cellular telephone, avideo enabled voice over internet protocol telephone, a video enabledpersonal computer, and a video enabled personal digital assistant. 8.The system of claim 1, wherein the media gateway provides internetprotocol signals to the soft switch, and wherein the media gatewayprovides time division multiplex signals to a public switched telephonenetwork.
 9. A system for intercepting communications, the systemcomprising: a media gateway communicably coupled to a firstcommunicator, a second communicator, and a central office, wherein themedia gateway is randomly selected from among a plurality of mediagateways, and wherein the randomly selected media gateway is operable totransfer communications selected for acquisition and operable totransfer communications not selected for acquisition; a processorassociated with the central office; a computer readable mediumassociated with the central office, wherein the computer readable mediumincludes instructions executable by the processor to: receive atransmission originating from the first communicator; direct thetransmission to the acquisition facility; and direct the transmissionfrom the central office to the second communicator via the mediagateway, wherein the transmission from the central office to the secondcommunicator masks the occurrence of the transmission from the centraloffice to the acquisition facility at least in part through the randomselection of the media gateway from among the plurality of mediagateways.
 10. A method for monitoring audio communications passed via avoice over internet protocol network, the method comprising: receivingan audio transmission at a soft switch, wherein the audio transmissionis initiated by a first communicator, and wherein the audio transmissionindicates a first indicator associated with the first communicator and asecond indicator associated with a second communicator; accessing acomputer readable medium, wherein the computer readable medium includesa list of communicators selected for acquisition; identifying at leastone of the first communicator and the second communicator on the list ofcommunicators selected for acquisition; directing the audio transmissionto a media gateway associated with an acquisition facility, wherein theassociation of the media gateway with the acquisition facility isobscured from the second communicator, wherein association of the mediagateway with the acquisition facility is obscured from the secondcommunicator at least in part through random selection of a mediagateway; preparing the audio transmission for dispatch to the secondcommunicator; directing the audio transmission to the second IP addressassociated with the second communicator; and directing the audiotransmission to an acquisition facility.
 11. The method of claim 10,wherein the first indicator is a first IP address, and wherein thesecond indicator is a second IP address.
 12. The method of claim 10,wherein association of the media gateway with the acquisition facilityis obscured from the second communicator at least in part throughselection of a media gateway that handles both transmissions selectedfor acquisition and transmissions not selected for acquisition.
 13. Amethod for intercepting real time audio transmissions, the methodcomprising: receiving a transmission at a soft switch, wherein thetransmission includes a signaling component indicating a first IPaddress associated with a first communicator and a second IP addressassociated with a second communicator; determining that the firstcommunicator is selected for acquisition; directing the transmission toa randomly selected media gateway; directing the transmission to anacquisition facility; and directing the transmission to the second IPaddress associated with the second communicator, wherein thetransmission to the second IP address obscures the transmission to theacquisition facility at least in part through random selection of amedia gateway.
 14. The method of claim 13, wherein the media gateway isone of a plurality of media gateways, and wherein another transmissionbetween the first communicator and the second communicator that is notsubject to acquisition is passed through the media gateway.
 15. Themethod of claim 13, wherein the transmission is a first transmission,and wherein the method further comprises: receiving a secondtransmission at the soft switch, wherein the second transmissionincludes a signaling component indicating the first IP addressassociated with the first communicator and a third IP address associatedwith a third communicator; determining that the first communicator isselected for acquisition; directing the transmission to a media gateway;and at the media gateway: directing the second transmission to theacquisition facility; and directing the second transmission to thesecond IP address associated with the first communicator, wherein thesecond transmission to the second IP address obscures the secondtransmission to the acquisition facility from at least the secondcommunicator.
 16. The method of claim 13, wherein the transmission is areal time transmission, and wherein the real time transmission isselected from a group consisting of: an audio transmission, and a videotransmission.
 17. The method of claim 13, wherein the method furtherincludes: providing a computer readable medium associated with the softswitch, wherein the computer readable medium includes a list ofcommunicators selected for acquisition.
 18. The method of claim 17,wherein the method further comprises: adding the first communicator tothe list of communicators selected for acquisition.
 19. The method ofclaim 18, wherein the method further comprises: receiving a request toacquire transmissions associated with the first communicator.
 20. Themethod of claim 13, wherein directing the transmission to theacquisition facility includes formatting the transmission as a timedivision multiplexed signal.
 21. The system of claim 1, wherein thesecond computer readable medium further includes instructions executableby the second processor to replace an indicator of the media gateway inthe transmission with an indicator of the first communicator.
 22. Thesystem of claim 4, wherein the first computer readable medium furtherincludes instructions executable by the first processor to update thelist of communicators in response to a request to monitor acommunicator.
 23. The method of claim 10, further comprising replacingan indicator of the media gateway in the audio transmission with anindicator of the first communicator or the second communicator.
 24. Themethod of claim 10, further comprising updating the list ofcommunicators selected for acquisition in response to a request tomonitor one or more communicators.
 25. The method of claim 13, furthercomprising replacing an indicator of the media gateway in thetransmission with an indicator of the first communicator.
 26. The methodof claim 13, wherein the determining operation is performed based uponthe first IP address or the second IP address.